


TLS: Espionage

by AlienCupcakes13



Series: The Lucky Stars (Original Universe) [1]
Category: OC Universe (The Lucky Stars), Original Work
Genre: Espionage, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Makeover, Spies, Undercover Missions, i honestly dont know what tags to use ummmm, i'll add them as i think of them i guess, it goes... weirdly?, loner computer dweeb has to make the moves on a hot evil chick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24730954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlienCupcakes13/pseuds/AlienCupcakes13
Summary: Starter, of all people, has been tasked with finagling her way into the syndicate known as The Underground. She not only has to pretend to be the compete opposite of who she is, but also flirt with somebody who completely disgusts her.Will she keep up her lie and weaken The Underground's very own personal Hellhound as Maxine Hendricks, or will her truth as Starter, the mysterious masked hacker extraordinaire, be completely blown out of the water?
Relationships: Harry Clark | Fahrenheit (The Lucky Stars)/Michael Johns | Flatline (The Lucky Stars), Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character, Starter (The Lucky Stars)/Laila Hart | Hellhound (The Lucky Stars)
Series: The Lucky Stars (Original Universe) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1168319
Kudos: 1





	TLS: Espionage

Her face was so unfamiliar to her. Her skin was pale and freckled, her mouth was chapped, and the bags under her eyes weighed tons. She couldn’t keep eye contact with herself.

“I’m not so sure about this guys… I’m not a front-man for a reason.” Her normal chip-tuned voice was gone with her mask, she could barely recognize the sounds coming out of her throat. What she did hear was a scared little girl, a child without her safety blankie.

“You’ll be fine, Starts!” Harry wrapped his arm around her elbow, leaning his head against her shoulder as he looked at her reflection. “Just let me and Luci work our magic and you’ll be stealing hearts like candy from a sweet little evil baby.”

“It doesn’t matter if I look like a supermodel or a computer goblin. I  _ can’t  _ talk to people. You all know this.” Starter looked to the mask in her hand, running her fingertips over its blank digital screen. Her hands and face itched as she fought the urge to plug it back in. “I don’t even know why Mark is so insistent on this.”

“You know exactly why.” Lucille spoke up from behind the hacker as she held one of her bright pink dresses up to Starter, twisting her face up in scrutiny. “People know Starter the Chaotic Anarchistic Hacker, not  _ Insert Name Here _ .” Lucille looked at her with a subtle smirk, tilting her head in question.

Starter raised her eyebrows, smirking as she rolled her eyes. “Nice try. If I really have to do this I’m using an alias.” 

“Oh come on! Your secret's safe with us!” Harry pulled her arm, shaking it like a child trying to beg for another snack. 

“Names are weaknesses. If I wanted to I could take everything you own before you blinked just because I know your name, Harrison.” Starter couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face from Harry’s offended glare. “Don’t be mad, it’s all public record.”

Lucille’s snickering was quickly halted by a seething glare from Harry. “Stop stalling and let us work!” The man gently peeled the mask from the hacker’s hand, setting it in its case. “When we’re done you’ll be schmoozing assistants of bosses of evil tyrannical syndicates like it's your job!”

“Fine! Fine! Just do it fast.” Starter screwed up her face and held her breath, closing her eyes when she saw Lucille rush towards the makeup bag.

\--

“Just one more touch and…. DONE!” Harry exclaimed as he backed away, quickly readjusting her hair before stepping away fully.

“She will have no idea what’s coming! Well, except for a totally hot lady.” Lucille sing-songed, nudging Starter’s shoulder with her own before stepping away, giving her own last minute checks.

Harry flopped dramatically onto the couch, sighing deeply. “Did you think of a name yet?”

Starter gawked in awe at her reflection. She had a hard time before but recognizing the woman looking back at her now was nearly impossible. She snapped back to reality when Harry cleared his throat, a smug prideful smirk stretching his face. “Maxine Hendricks. But my friends call me Max.”

—

“Well then,  _ Max _ . It’s nice to meet you. I’m Laila.”

Starter had seamlessly slipped into the party, as planned. The music was pumping loudly from the upgraded abandoned subway systems that the Underground called home.

She was confident from the start that that could be done without a hitch. The hard part had only just begun. She knew who she was and where her strengths lay. Hacking into super encrypted networks? No biggy. Putting a nearly invincible virus (of her own making, of course) into Hellion’s servers, setting them back months in their plans? Easy fucking peasy. Talking to people face to face while in a suffocatingly skin tight dress and convincing them that she’s on their side when she’s really just trying to weaken their defenses? She already knows she’s gonna fail.

“Max? Are you alright? Do you want me to call you Maxine? I’m sorry if I jumped the shark or something.” Laila looked genuinely apologetic. An odd site for the Lady of the Underground’s assistant. 

“No! No it’s fine. You can call me Max. I just get um… a little spacey… is all.” Starter chuckled nervously and rubbed at her neck, looking anywhere but at the girl in front of her. “So uh… what brings you here?”

Laila let out her own laugh, brushing her platinum blonde hair behind her ear. “This is sort of my boss’s party. I’m surprised you don’t already know who I am.”

“I…” Starter looked to her feet, her mood souring when she was reminded of the heels she was forced to wear. “I know who you are! I just kinda get… nervous around pretty people. That’s it!” Starter’s not used to having to school her emotions but she must be doing a good job of it because Laila does not seem to notice the total disgust she is feeling right now.

“You’re adorable.” Laila smiled at Starter, who tried her best to look straight out of a rom-com. “How about we go dance and get to know each other a little bit?”

Starter nodded and took the hand that was offered to her, allowing herself to get pulled into a tightly packed crowd. Fuck.

Her nerves must have literally been on fire because when Laila looked back her face switched from a smile to pure concern. “Holy shit, are you alright? You look like you’re having war flashbacks.”

“Something like that.” Starter said without really meaning to. She quickly snapped her attention to Laila, who looked even more worried. “I’m gonna go get a drink.” And with that the hacker rushed out and into the nearest open space far from any people. The good thing about being in a condemned subway system is that there was always more room.

She actually did grab a drink, but she barely touched it as she paced back and forth on the concrete. She quickly pulled her phone out, clicking on the British flag emoji in her contacts.

“Mark please pick up oh my fucking god!”

“Who’s Mark?” Laila said, scaring Starter into almost dropping her phone. “Sorry. I followed you out to make sure you were okay.”

Starter stared with wide eyes, clutching the phone to her chest. “No one!” Starter swore to herself, wincing at how loud she was. “It’s no one. Just this work friend of mine. He made me come out here even though he knows I’m not good at parties.”

“He sounds like a shitty friend.” Laila stepped closer, gently resting a hand on Starter’s shoulder. “Let's get out of here. I know this great place. Super lowkey, nice and quiet.”

“It’s your boss’s party. I don’t want you to leave on my account.” Starter could feel sweat building on her upper lip. She just wanted to go back to HQ, plug her mask back in, and never leave her nest ever again.

“She wouldn’t mind. The Lady understands that I like having… other pursuits.” Laila’s hand squeezed lightly, her eyes softening as she spoke.

“Um…” There really was no way out of this. “Yeah, okay.”

Laila slipped her hand down and grabbed Starter’s, pulling her gently behind her as she led them up and out of the subway.

\--

They emerged and Starter was still allowing herself to be pulled along, fighting every instinct in her body to turn and run. “So, what is this place you’re taking me to? I’ve always been pretty suspect of secondary locations, especially unknown ones that a stranger takes me to.”

“You really are a nervous one, aren’t you?” Laila turned back with a soft smile. “I promise I’m not going to kill you or anything. Despite our reputation we aren’t as… evil as you’re led to believe.”

“Evil.” Starter laughed nervously, looking anywhere but at the woman in front of her. “Yeah I uh… I don’t really believe in those rumors. They seem a bit far-fetched. I mean, you guys just want to unite everyone, keep them safe under one rule.” She forced back a gag, shivering at the effort.

Laila was quiet for a moment, looking forward as she pulled them further away from the subway.

“Yeah.” Starter noticed the smile in her voice. At least the plans working so far.

“Where are you going?” She felt a rush of energy surge to the back of her head as the voice of Damien filled her mind. “You’ve moved from the party. What’s happening?”

Starter looked around in panic, her eyes landing on a drug store across the street just as Damien started to sound worried. “Hey, do you mind if we stop over there real quick? I could really go for a snack.”

“The place we’re going to has food.” Laila chuckled, turning to face Starter, who froze in her spot. “Max?”

“Starter, answer right now or I swear to god I will kill you before anyone else can.” Damien’s voice, while angry, was laced with concern.

“Yeah but uh… does it have beef jerky and cola?” Starter was on the verge of blowing her cover at this point just to get the yelling out of her head.

Laila laughed loudly, nodding her head. “I guess you’re right.”

“Good because I really needed to hit the john too.” Starter nervously giggled before rushing across the street and into the store, blinking at the fluorescent lights.

“You can’t just run across the road! You didn’t even look both ways!” Laila yelled after her, chasing her across the street. “You should’ve said something earlier!”

“Yeah sorry, it just all hit me! Be right back!” Starter smiled as she rushed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her quickly.

“Okay holy shit dude chill I’m fine!” Starter hissed out as she stepped further into the bathroom, pausing in front of the dirty cracked mirror. “She wanted to leave and I panicked. Besides, if she trusts me this quickly then I should get this over and done with in no time!”

“She’s the Lady and Lord’s personal hound-dog, idiot. She’s not stupid and in high standing which makes her incredibly dangerous. Be careful.  _ Please _ .” Starter couldn’t help the warmth in her chest at the caring notes leaking into their otherwise venomous tone.

“I’ll be careful, I promise.” She’s suddenly very aware of the gun strapped tightly to her inner thigh, it’s heavy metal cold against her skin. “Try texting next time.” She heard a soft chuckle and then dead silence, grateful the voice in her head finally shut up. She sighed and flushed the toilet, washing her hands and avoiding her reflection before leaving, schooling her face into a satisfied smile when she locked eyes with Laila.

“Feel better?” The blonde smiled, holding a plastic bag out towards Starter. “I hope you don’t mind, all they had left was teriyaki.”

“Yeah uh… no that’s perfect.” Starter chuckled, taking the bag and pulling out the cola and popping the tab. “Thanks you really didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to. You’re odd, but in a cute way. I like you.” Laila smiled and Starter had to hold back her recoil. “Are you ready to go? It’s not much further from here.”

“Sure! Yeah, okay.” Starter began chugging down the soda as they left, continuing their walk.

\--

They stopped in front of a tall apartment building, fancy, definitely cleaner than the TLS HQ, and more well staffed. Laila held her head high and her smile full of pride and Starter was starting to wish she didn’t drink her soda as fast as she did.

“The Baroness bought this place for when they wanted to mingle with the citizens, but they give me the keys while they’re away. Don’t worry, they won’t mind if I bring some friends.” The heavy flirtatious tone had Starter choking on her jerky.

“Oh uh… coolio.” Starter hit her chest loudly before realizing what the other woman had said. “Bought this place as in… the whole building?”

“Yeah, keeps it quiet.” Laila smiled down to Starter and snaked her fingers through the others, walking through the doors with confidence. Starter waved to the doorman and begrudgingly allowed herself to be pulled into the lavish lobby. The walls were covered in a deep red wallpaper, gold lines swirling intricately from floor to ceiling. Dark brown wood and velvety red silk covered just about every inch of this place and had Starter choking again.

“Holy shit.” Starter looked up to the ceiling in awe, looking at the crystal chandelier in reverence.

“I know, right?” Laila looked amused as she pulled Starter into the elevator, which was just as fancy as the lobby. Laila pressed a button labeled “P” and the box whirred to life, the low hum of the hover tracks gave Starter a sense of calm, the first of it’s kind since taking off her mask.

“So, Maxine.” The blonde caught her off guard, startling the techie out of her chill. “What brings you to UC? A girl like you looks too nice for a place like this.”

“Oh um… I moved here for work. It’s this locally based corporation.” Starter looked to the mirrored wall of the elevator, internally cringing at her reflection. “I’m sure you’ve heard of Hellion?” Her voice was innocent, questioning, but she felt pride at her carefully constructed ruse. Especially at Laila’s shocked expression.

“Hellion? Well then, it looks like we’re definitely going to see more of each other.” The Hellhound smiled, sharp and predatory, but covered in a layer of sweet honey.

“I remember hearing something about Hellion having some wealthy partners. Makes sense that the barons would be among them. So I’m guessing it’s a safe bet to say that they work together a lot?” The hacker tore her eyes away from the mirror as she spoke, looking up to the screen above the door as it slowly counted up.

“You could say that.” And just as Starter thought she had broken the shell it closed right back up. Laila smirked, looking at the other out of the corner of her eye, facing the elevator door. “You ask a lot of questions, Max.”

Starter floundered for a second, collecting herself quickly. “I’m just a curious person. I’ll stop, if you want. I tend to get carried away and put my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“It’s endearing.” Laila turned with a grin as the elevators humming slowly stopped, the doors sliding open with a ding.

“Welcome home, Laila. Have a pleasant evening.” A feminine mechanical voice played from somewhere overhead. Laila cocked her head in confusion.

“Strange, she usually mentions when I have a companion.” Laila furrowed her finely shaped brows, turning to face Starter entirely.

“Oh! I uh, I had some modifications done not too long ago.” Starter turned away and lifted her hair, revealing her masks input port. “It blocks sensors from detecting me. In a security controlled area you can never have too much security.” Starter nervously chuckled and stared at the mirror once again, watching as Laila inspected the tech in her skull, humming in acknowledgement.

“Smart.” Laila said after a moment, seeming satisfied with the answer as she walked away. “Is that also why you’re strapped?”

“What? No I’m not I-”

“I will advise you now that I really hate when people lie to me.” Laila seemed far too calm as she walked behind a bar close to the elevator, reaching under and grabbing a few items.

“I…” Starter gulped as she cautiously stepped inside, jumping when the elevator dinged once again as it’s doors closed. It hummed as it began its descent. “Okay look, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bring it but uh… I just wanted to be safe. I only moved here about last month and I haven’t heard very nice things about the streets at night.” She wasn’t sure Laila had even heard her as the blonde woman had just quietly continued mixing a drink. She was about to speak again when Laila opened her mouth.

“I believe you. I do carry my own when I’m out, I get it.” Laila tapped her leg, the sound of hard plastic affirmed her claim. “But don’t worry, I only use it when I need to.” Her eyes looked soft but the warning flashed brightly behind them. “Would you like a drink?”

“No thank you, I don’t really drink.” The hacker smiled shyly, turning to look around the penthouse. It was a lot more industrial than the rest of the building. Exposed metal, dark leathers, plenty of wood embellishments. It felt so lifeless and cold.

“Fair enough.” Laila hummed as she poured the alcohol into a glass, walking back around the bar and further into the house. “Follow me.” Not a request, a demand.

She led Starter into the living room, sitting on the corner of the large dark brown leather sectional, patting the open spot next to her. Starter reluctantly complied, stifling the shiver at the cold hide against her legs.

“So, Maxine, how are you?” Laila took a small sip of her drink, looking up through her lashes at the other.

“I’m uh… I’m good.” Starter smiled, but her leg had started bouncing the second she sat down, disproving her act immediately.

“Your nervousness is adorable. I’m not a dog, I won’t bite.” Her tone really insinuated otherwise but Starter decided to let that one go. 

“I know, I know.” Starter took a deep steadying breath, finally looking Laila in the eyes. “You’re just the first person that actually seems interesting in this city and I don’t wanna blow it.” 

Laila delicately set her glass down on the glass coffee table and leaned close to Starter, seeming to be literally searching her eyes. The hacker's heart sped up and she was starting to prepare for the worst when Laila’s long thin hand reached up slowly to brush a lock of hair back on top of Starter’s head. “You’re doing pretty good so far.” She was impossibly close and Starter couldn’t help the rush of flutters in her chest as the blonde quickly averted her gaze down towards her lips.

Starter panicked and stood up, her body as stiff as a board. “I UM…” Starter’s voice cracked loudly, causing the hacker to cough. She took a deep breath and forced herself to loosen up. “Shit, I’m sorry.” She ever so slowly sat back down, keeping her body turned slightly away from the other. “My last relationship didn’t really uh… do well for me and I uh..”

Laila rested a hand on Starter’s knee, her fingers squeezing gently. “It’s okay, you don’t need to explain.” Starter looked down to the gentle hand on her knee, confused. “I apologize.”

“It’s um… alright.” The hacker pried her gaze away from the hand on her leg to look into Laila’s eyes. Starter preferred reading code, not people, so she could not for the life of her figure out the emotion coming from her icy blue eyes.

\--

“And then you fucked!” Harry exclaimed from his position on his bed. Michael, who was wrapped tightly around his middle, slapped his chest gently with a chuckle.

“Be good, H. She’s still reeling from the social interaction.” He looked over to Starter, whose mask was firmly in place with an angry emoticon displayed on her goggles.

“We didn’t fuck! And it’s been a week, I have recovered perfectly from that dreaded night.” Starter flopped onto the bed dramatically, her emoticon now appearing to be crying. “I thought I wouldn’t get out of there alive!”

“Oh don’t be dramatic.” Harry chuckled, nudging the hacker with his foot. “It’s not like you got nothing out of it an- oh wait, you did get nothing because you were too busy boning the mysterious and sexy and powerful woman.”

“Harry, stop it!” Michael laughed, both at his husband and the text death glare appearing on Starter’s mask.

“I swear on your mom’s life we just talked for a couple hours before I left. I didn’t really get a chance to snoop. I left as soon as I could, I think I might’ve thrown myself out the window if I had to play nice for one more second. Especially in that dress.” She shivered violently at the thought of the almost literally skin tight monstrosity. “I say let’s call the mission a failure and forget it ever happened.”

“Now you know that’s not happening. You’ve gotta get in there and charm the hell out of her.” Harry smiled snarkily, enjoying the angry eyes being flashed back at him once again. “Just treat it like one of those encrypted codes you are always talking about. Find the weaknesses and get the thing to let you in just so you can get to the base coding and destroy the whole thing!”

Starter’s mask showed two zeros and flashed into hyphens in a text mock-up of blinking as she stared at Harry. After Harry was about to break the prolonged silence Starter’s eyes flashed into two exclamation points as she hopped up onto her hands and knees, bouncing excitedly.

“You’re right! She’s just a line of code I have to crack!” The hacker jumped off of the bed and towards the door, flinging it open excitedly. “This is going to be fun!”

**Author's Note:**

> I have written so many stories for my ocs and never post them but i rlly like this one so far so please, if you like it too please let me know with a kudos and a comment! Thank you so much for reading! <3<3


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